


turn to the left

by peppermint_latte



Category: L.A. Noire
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Era, Cole Phelps/Elsa Lichtmann Mentioned, Gen, Period-Typical Homophobia, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-04-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:14:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23595904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peppermint_latte/pseuds/peppermint_latte
Summary: “I took the fall instead of you, Phelps.” Thomas tells the man tiredly, from the passengers seat. The silence feels like it’s stretched on for too long, and he decides to tell him before he can regret it. He trusts the man, Thomas reminds himself. And Cole Phelps is one of the only people in the city who still seem willing to even speak to him.“What are you talking about?” Cole looks over at him, gaze piercing. Eyes searching for something deeper, always the detective.“The night before the news broke and I was fired, I tailed Roy. He followed you to Lichtmann’s apartment.” Thomas turns away from Cole and stares out the front windshield, watching the cars drive by.“He knows about-“ Cole cuts himself off.“Yes. He was going to take it to the press.” He answers the unfinished question.
Relationships: Cole Phelps & Original Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	turn to the left

**Author's Note:**

> Thomas is an OC who's a detective for the LAPD. He's never been Phelps' partner but he knows the man well. He's also gay, and it's the 40's in America. That being said I don't plan for there to be any ships, this is more of a 'what if phelps wasn't the one to take the fall'.

“I took the fall instead of you, Phelps.” Thomas tells the man tiredly, from the passengers seat.

The silence feels like it’s stretched on for too long, and he decides to tell him before he can regret it. He trusts the man, Thomas reminds himself. And Cole Phelps is one of the only people in the city who still seem willing to even speak to him.

“What are you talking about?” Cole looks over at him, gaze piercing. Eyes searching for something deeper, always the detective.

“The night before the news broke and I was fired, I tailed Roy. I was suspicious about how involved with Cohen he was, it’s one thing to be a little crooked to work around how the world works, but it’s another to be in it with the gangs. So I tailed him that night after you two parted ways. Turns out he followed you to Lichtmann’s apartment.” Thomas turns away from Cole and stares out the front windshield, watching the cars drive by.

“He knows about-“ Cole cuts himself off.

“Yes. He was going to take it to the press.” He answers the unfinished question.

“You took the fall for me.” Cole says, staring a hole into the side of the other man’s head.

Thomas shifts uncomfortably at the scrutiny but turns to face the detective head on.

“It wasn’t intentional, don’t get the wrong idea. I like you Cole, but my crime was much higher than yours, and there was every chance with your record that you would have weathered the storm. I on the other hand, will struggle to find work for the rest of my life.” Thomas doesn’t say it because he wants pity or even just to complain, he simply says it because it’s the bleak reality he now lives in.

“But you still took the fall in the end.” Cole presses, always pushing.

His relentless nature may help him solve more damn cases than any other detective in L.A. but it could be irritating at times. Thomas wonders why he started this conversation at all. It doesn’t matter now; Cole isn’t going to stop until he gets his answer. Maybe he’ll do something about it, maybe he won’t.

“I caught up to Roy and found out exactly what you were doing just the same as he had. We exchanged a few barbs and it became obvious to me that he was going to take it to the press. I tried to talk him out of betraying his own partner, as much as I disagreed with your actions, that getting out would wreck your career, even your life. And I didn’t think you deserved that.” Thomas sighs and leans back into his seat, closing his eyes.

“I pushed too hard, was too aggressive. Without ever meaning to, I reminded Roy of something he’d found out about me nearly two years ago. He caught me with a man I met at a discreet bar on the edge of town. At the time I paid him to keep quiet, with the side of a few threats about some of his own less than legal actions. I tried to avoid him afterwards, the less he saw of me, the less he could be reminded that there was a queer working at the LAPD and that he might want to blow the whistle on that.”

Thomas takes a moment to reflect on where this has all gotten him. No job, and meeting with Cole in secret to work this morphine case like he’s a criminal informant. He’s going to be out of his apartment in less than a month. All thanks to one man. He never liked Roy but he can honestly say that he didn’t hate the man either, until now.

“But ever since he had you promoted to Vice I’ve been keeping a closer eye on him, taking risks. And that night, I took too much of a risk. He smiled at me and said _‘If you’re so dead set on me not telling the papers about Cole’s little secret, I’ll just tell them yours instead, I’m sure you’ll love getting the chance to protect another deviant like yourself’_. He left before I could do anything, I just froze up, and he walked away. I should have punched him in the face.” Thomas laments the lost opportunity.

“It wouldn’t have done any good, he would have used it to claim you assaulted him and made the case against you look even worse.” Cole reasons.

Cole always has to be so reasonable. And that can _definitely_ be irritating at times.

“True, it would have felt good though.” Thomas shoots back.

Cole rolls his eyes but doesn’t disagree.

“So why tell me all this? Just to warn me?” Cole questions him.

“No. Something about that night didn’t sit right with me and I’ve thought hard about it. Roy was going to betray you and ruin your career, only months after having you promoted so he could work with you. He needed a reason to do it. So I checked the papers at the time and that scandal with Brenda Allen was going down. So I have to wonder, who stood to lose in that case? It’s been forgotten about and hushed up in the wake of the news about a homosexual hiding their deviancy in the police department.” Cole’s expression pinches slightly at the reminder of how scathing the articles have been these past weeks but Thomas ignores him, powering on.

“I looked into Roy first, obviously, but didn’t find much. So I’m asking you to look into it, find Allen and find out what she knows, and why it’s worth the department risking themselves coming under fire for harbouring a sexual pervert.” The words feel like poison on Thomas’s tongue, he hates them, but saying them feels like some kind of release. Like spitting them back at the press.

Cole sighs and looks out at the road.

“This is big. If it gets back to whoever is covering this up or if Roy figures out what trail I’m following, they’ll shut me out too. Roy’s a good detective, it won’t be easy to hide an entire investigation from him.”

“So don’t. You must know someone outside of Vice who can work this case, someone you can trust.” Thomas replies.

Cole glances at the other man.

“What about you? Don’t you know anyone else who could investigate this?” He asks.

“If I did, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. I trust you Cole, but you’re way too close to Roy.”

“At least we can agree on that. And…” Cole groans, head falling against the steering wheel, “I might know someone who can help.”

“You don’t sound all that confident.” Thomas eyes him dispassionately.

“I’m confident in his skills, it’s just that he hates my guts.” Cole answers, slightly muffled.

“Ah.”

“His name is Jack Kelso, he works for California Fire and Life. He’s a claims investigator.” Cole pulls his head up and relaxes his posture.

“How’s a claims investigator going to help us Phelps?” Thomas asks, a little derisively.

Cole flashes him a hard glare.

“He doesn’t work for the LAPD, that should make his investigation go unnoticed for longer.”

“Alright, how are we going to get this guy in on this?” Thomas asks.

Cole gives him a satisfied smirk.

“I have an idea.”

**Author's Note:**

> I may continue this but no promises.


End file.
